Optimism

Somewhere is the past few months I heard a talk about the desperate state of affairs. It was porbablly climate change but maybe it was the meltdown or the mideast. In any case he was asked if he was optimistic. He said something like that optimism was the only attitude which leads to effective action so it is our obligation to be optimistic. Fake it 'til you make it.

.

"Silly Little Numbers!"

If people are the

only ones who use

money, how important

can it really be?

Silly little numbers!

~5-year old Rosie Avila

(Original calligraphy by Lelania Avila)

Fwd: George Lakoff, Co-founder/Sr. Fellow, Rockridge Institute; Author, The Political Mind - SendMeRSS

The Commonwealth Club doesn't provide a page to point to for a description of a radio program. So here's their description of one of their program from their RSS feed.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Commonwealth Club Radio Program <alert@sendmerss.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Subject: George Lakoff, Co-founder/Sr. Fellow, Rockridge Institute; Author, The Political Mind - SendMeRSS
To: mshook@gmail.com

George Lakoff, Co-founder/Sr. Fellow, Rockridge Institute; Author, The Political Mind - SendMeRSS George Lakoff, Co-founder/Sr. Fellow, Rockridge Institute; Author, The Political Mind George Lakoff, Co-founder/Sr. Fellow, Rockridge Institute; Author, The Political Mind Leading linguistic and political analyst, George Lakoff, will explain how language can be used as a critical tool in progressive politics, describing how our brains work in relation to society, why language is so important, and how Democrats can use this knowledge to their advantage to win the November elections. Lakoff believes that progressives have been fighting a losing battle in America for the last 30 years because, he says, the majority of citizens vote against their own self interests. Lakoff is a professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972. He has published many scholarly articles and books including The Political Mind (2008) as well as the influential book, Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think (2002). Although some of his research involves questions traditionally pursued by linguists, he is best known for his ideas about the centrality of metaphor to human thinking, political behavior and society. He is particularly famous for his concept of the "embodied mind," which he has written about in relation to mathematics. In recent years he has applied his work to the realm of politics, exploring this in his books. He is the co-founder and senior fellow of the progressive think tank, the Rockridge Institute. He previously taught at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He has been a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford and a Visiting Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris (1995) and the Linguistics Society of America Summer Institute at the University of New Mexico (Summer, 1995). Link - Download - Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:29:25 GMT - Feed (1 subs) Sent using SendMeRss.com. Visit here to unsubscribe from Commonwealth Club Radio Program. Recommended Feeds/Actions Subscribe DealMeRSS.com - Great Deals Delivered Every Day

iLarry Diamond, Senior Fellow,Hoover Institution; Professor, Centeron Democracy, Development and theRule of Law, Stanford University - SendMeRSS

The Commonwealth Club doesn't provide a page to point to for a description of a radio program. So here's their description of one of their program from their RSS feed.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Commonwealth Club Radio Program <alert@sendmerss.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 7:25 PM
Subject: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow,Hoover Institution; Professor, Centeron Democracy, Development and theRule of Law, Stanford University - SendMeRSS

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow,Hoover Institution; Professor, Centeron Democracy, Development and theRule of Law, Stanford University - SendMeRSS Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow,Hoover Institution; Professor, Centeron Democracy, Development and theRule of Law, Stanford University The Spirit of Democracy Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Professor, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University In 1974, nearly three-quarters of all countries were dictatorships; today, more than half are democracies. Diamond contends, however, that recent efforts to promote democracy have stumbled and that many democratic governments are faltering. He explains that the desire for democracy runs deep, even in very poor countries, and proposes that even entrenched regimes like Iran and China could become democracies within a generation. Produced by The Club's International Relations Memeber-Led Forum This program was recorded in front of a live audience on May 7, 2008 Link - Download - Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:22:08 GMT - Feed (1 subs) Sent using SendMeRss.com. Visit here to unsubscribe from Commonwealth Club Radio Program. Recommended Feeds/Actions Subscribe DealMeRSS.com - Great Deals Delivered Every Day

Beowulf

Further my infatuation with Old English (OE), sparked by Dr. D. S. Lee's lectures, I just discovered James Rumford's wonderful retelling of Beowulf. The back cover points out the he's used modern English words that come from Old English almost exclusively. The language is beautiful, as is the book design, the length is good for the impatient and there are wonderful touches: after the introduction we meet Beowulf in the original, "Beowulf is min nama" - Beowulf is my name. The final line is also included in OE.

Lucas Gonze and Jon Udell

I listened to this Interview With Innovators. It brings to mind:

• Dr. Lee's discussion in his last lecture on manuscripts about the lack of authorship.
• Duncan Cragg's microweb
• All the cataloging stuff about work and manifestation, etc. and the LibraryThing version of that.
• Clay Shirky's talk at the Long Now Foundation.
• Being useful. - serving
• Ride match
  

This is a very unfocused talk, but very worth while.

• audiokatia
• rss
• and Jon's frustration at its limit adoption
  
• syndication
  
• Bitzi
  
• provides a unique identifier for a file
  
• syndication
• music playlists
• curating